WWC Earth Day events to focus on mountain environment, folklife

Warren Wilson College and partners are hosting a family-friendly day of free workshops, presentations and old-time music on April 21 (Earth Day).

Everyone is invited to celebrate and participate in Sustaining Our Mountain Culture and Environment, by learning and promoting skills for acting locally in an effort to make the region a little greener, a little more resilient and a little more fun. Presentations, field trips and hands-on workshops will be held from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. on the Warren Wilson campus. Some events have a small fee for materials. A brochure with more information can be found at warren-wilson.edu/~elc. Or call 828-771-3781 for more details.

Fiddles & Folklife also will be held April 21 from noon-5 p.m. at Bryson Gym on campus, with no admission charge. Fiddles & Folklife is an annual Appalachian folklife festival and old-time music competition with categories for fiddle, banjo and string band, including a youth category (ages 16 and under) for banjo and fiddle. Other activities at Fiddles & Folklife include horse-drawn wagon rides, cakewalks, jam sessions, food and craft vendors, fiber arts, blacksmithing and other folklife demonstrations.

Also as part of Sustaining Our Mountain Culture and Environment, musicians will compete for cash prizes, and the string band contest winner will play for the square dance finale. Musician can contact Phil Jamison at 828-771-3722 or pjamison@warren-wilson.edu for more details.

Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters (WNCPAP), a network of artists with an interest in capturing “a moment in time,” are participating in the day’s events by painting a number of scenes from the Swannanoa Valley and Warren Wilson’s pastoral setting. The artwork painted during the day will be available for sale from 4-5 p.m. at Sustaining Our Mountain Culture and Environment. WNCPAP is donating 30 percent of the proceeds to support programs of Warren Wilson’s Environmental Leadership Center.

Major sponsors of Sustaining Our Mountain Culture and Environment include Warren Wilson College and its Environmental Leadership Center, WNCPAP, Friends of the WNC Nature Center, Asheville Radio Group, Acoustic Corner, YMCA, Organic Mechanic, ASAP, Aqua Pro and Pardee Hospital.

Anyone registering for and attending three or more of the workshops and presentations will receive a free pass to the WNC Nature Center.

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